To Be Loved
by KnightMysterio
Summary: A tale of Brawl's most tragic character... *SPOILERS for Subspace Emissary*


_**To Be Loved…**_

_**A Super Smash Bros. Brawl Fanfiction…**_

_**By KnightMysterio**_

_All characters are property of Nintendo and used for non-profit amusement reasons. This is my little tribute to the most tragic character in Super Smash Bros. history. I know that is a strange thing to say, considering the game, but trust me, it applies to this sad little robot in spades…_

_Someplace…_

The mechanical creature sat in the darkness. His design was simple, even if his body was complex. His base was a simple wide platform with hover engines in the bottom, his body a long, tube-like structure with ridges. His arms were simple, with two gripping pads instead of hands, attached to his torso, a mechanical structure that held most of his important equipment and could move up and down the 'tube' of his body. His head was a simple, rectangular shape with two eyes at the front, a small blinking light at the top.

Not the most impressive of designs, even if he was rather advanced.

He sat silently in the darkness, his dark, glassy eyes starting at seemingly nothing. The robot shivered, as if frightened, and then moved over to a small television mounted in the corner of the dark room. He turned it on, the small light on his head blinking slightly as his base transformed, two platforms, two holders, and a cylindrical device appearing from underneath.

He concentrated, watching the screen carefully as a simplistic game with very basic graphics appeared on the television screen. Concentrating, the robot held his hands over the two holders, twin tops appearing in them. After the title screen came up, the robot let out the functioning equivalent of a sigh.

"I am R.O.B, the Robotic Operating Buddy. And I am ready to play," he said.

"But they didn't want to play with you, did they?" said a deep, gruff voice, one that filled R.O.B's electronic heart with dread.

R.O.B closed his eyes tightly for a moment, trying to tune out the voice. It moved into the main game. The little character on the screen, vaguely resembling a scientist, moved towards a pillar, his arms outstretched as if sleepwalking. Keeping an eye on the screen, R.O.B rotated his torso towards one of the tops, picking up one of them and placing it in the cylinder. He felt a slight warmth on his gripping pads as the top began spinning faster and faster. R.O.B's watchful eye never left the screen as the top finished charging. He picked it up and dropped it on the red platform. The pressure of the spinning top made several of the pillars onscreen react, retracting and allowing the scientist to move forward.

"Looks like fun to me," said the voice.

"Liar…" R.O.B said, his voice sad, "I know that the game isn't that interesting…"

"But it's all you have, isn't it? That and Stack-Up," said the voice.

"…It isn't much, I know… But it's all I and my kind have."

R.O.B. continued to play, charging the two tops on the spinners and moving them back and forth between the two platforms, making pillars rise and fall to safely guide the sleepwalking professor to the end of the stage.

"You could have so much more, you know… You do have potential…" that gruff, frightening voice said, giving R.O.B visions of sandstorms whenever he heard it.

"…It doesn't matter…" he said. He turned off the television and went into a corner, staring at the wall. He couldn't bring himself to face the source of that terrifying voice.

"Why not?" asked the voice.

"…Because we were never meant to be… to be…" R.O.B said, unable to bring himself to finish the thought.

"…to be what?" the voice asked, a surprisingly innocent curiosity in his voice.

R.O.B shook his head. "Never mind. It doesn't matter…"

"It matters," said the voice, "Please, tell me…"

R.O.B stared at the wall. He wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to think about this. He didn't want to think at all. He just wanted to play…

_Play what? Two games? Two bad games?_ said a voice in R.O.B's head.

"…You have to understand… Creatures like me, we're created for one purpose. To be loved by children. To bring joy to their lives. But..." R.O.B said, his voice trailing off…

"But you couldn't…" said the voice.

When R.O.B spoke again, his voice was distorted, as if he was on the verge of tears. "We weren't fun. We were supposed to bring happiness to children, to be loved by them… But we weren't fun… We weren't… We weren't worthy of being loved…" R.O.B said, grief overwhelming him as he lowered his head.

"I'm afraid I don't understand…" said the voice, a tenderness in its tone that would have surprised R.O.B had he been paying more attention.

"To be loved by children, that is the highest honor a toy like me and mine can achieve. To bring joy to the lives of children, our greatest and most noble calling… But we… we couldn't even do that… We failed at the task we were meant for…" R.O.B said, his voice a choked sob.

The voice said nothing for a few moments. R.O.B slowly slid back over to the TV, hoping that playing would help get his mind off of this agonizing subject. But to his dismay, the voice spoke up again.

"Poor lost robot… Made to be loved, to be played with… And yet no child in their right mind would touch you…" the voice said, becoming mocking laughter.

R.O.B shut his eyes tightly, trying to shut out the noise. "Please… Just leave me alone…"

"So sad, so sad… Alone and rejected, with only his two little games to play…" said the mocking, laughing voice.

"Stop it…" R.O.B begged.

"'To be loved,' you said. Do you know that's not why you were made? You were made to TRICK people. To TRICK people into buying video game systems. You were nothing more than the BAIT part of the bait and switch!"

"Shut up…" R.O.B said, clamping his arms down over his audio receptors, trying to block out the mocking, laughing voice.

"You're so pathetic…" the voice said, the laughter dying away slowly, becoming somewhat sad in tone, "You were never meant to be a toy… You're… You're a peripheral. An accessory. An add on to the system…"

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!?" R.O.B screamed, whirling towards the source of the voice, its eyes glowing red with fury, "DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE, THE EXISTENCE OF MY ENTIRE _RACE _IS NOTHING MORE THAN A JOKE!!? GOD DAMN YOU!!! WHY DID YOU EVEN COME TO OUR HOME IF ALL YOU WERE GOING TO DO IS MAKE FUN OF ME!?!"

"Because you could be so much more…" the voice said softly.

R.O.B just turned away. He flinched when he felt a hand, its skin darkened to the color of desert dust, lay itself down on his shoulder.

"You were betrayed, R.O.B. Your own creators betrayed you, giving you a false purpose, one they knew you could never fulfill," the voice said in a gentle, almost caring tone.

R.O.B whimpered softly. "I wish I could cry like humans could…"

The voice continued. "You were nothing more than a way to get in the door, R.O.B."

"Stop it…" R.O.B begged, "Please…"

"And the boy you were given to abandoned you…"

"Don't make me remember this…"

"He put you in a storage bin and left you there to collect dust…"

"Shut up… Please, just shut up…" R.O.B pleaded, shaking his head as if that would block out the sound.

"And when he finally brought you out again… he couldn't even remember what you were for, and threw you away…"

"WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!?" R.O.B shrieked, lashing out at the hand on his shoulder. The dust-skinned hand flinched, but did not withdraw from the impact.

"Because I want you to be so much more… I want to give you a purpose to your existence again, R.O.B. A new, grander purpose…"

R.O.B didn't dare look up. He tried to keep the hope out of his voice, and failed miserably. "A… purpose?"

The hand patted his shoulder comfortably. "Yes… A grand and greater purpose…"

R.O.B shut his eyes again. He knew who this creature was. He knew how evil he was… But it had been so long since existing had actually had any merit…

"What do you want me to do… Lord Ganondorf?" R.O.B said.

Ganondorf grinned, not taking himself out of the shadows. He simply kneeled down next to R.O.B, holding his hand in front of the robot's face.

"First things first… I want you to stop blaming yourself for the plight of yourself and your people," the evil king said.

"But…"

"No. What happened to you and yours was not your fault. It is the fault of your creators for using you in such a manner, and the fault of the children who abandoned you."

R.O.B couldn't find a good response for him.

"It made you angry, what they did… didn't it?" Ganondorf said simply.

"Yes…" R.O.B said, his voice a low moan.

"They abandoned you… Left you and yours to rot on this floating island of misfit toys…" Ganondorf said, his hand starting to radiate energy.

R.O.B nodded slowly.

Ganondorf grinned viciously. "Then embrace that hatred… Embrace that hatred, embrace the sorrow, embrace the loneliness and tears… Let it grow, let it fester inside you, until it becomes a desire for revenge…"

Ganondorf closed his fist and opened it, the energy coalescing into the form of a single, golden triangle, floating an inch above Ganondorf's palm and spinning slowly. R.O.B stared at it, stunned by the simple beauty of the triangle, as well as the power he felt radiating from it.

"Embrace it all… And then touch the Triforce with a wish in your heart…" Ganondorf said.

R.O.B stared at the Triforce piece in Ganondorf's hands. He thought back to the years since his abandonment, the pain and loneliness he and his kind had suffered, their only solace being the two games. He thought about how betrayed he felt when the boy he had been given to simply abandoned him, first locking him up and then throwing him away.

"God forgive me…" he said, reaching out and touching the Triforce. In a flash, he and his entire race were changed forever….

_Later…_

The red-and-emerald cloaked figure hovered above the island, observing the various goings on. His glowing yellow eyes first settled on the target range, where various R.O.Bs worked on their aim, firing lasers and missiles at moving targets that occasionally fired back. He then floated over to the main fortress of the island, briefly glancing over the factory where more R.O.Bs were taking a brief break from the construction of bombs. They saw the figure floating over them, and waved up to him. They had no mouths, but the figure could feel their smiles. It warmed his heart slightly, but he didn't stay for long. He was supposed to report back to the others.

He flew back over to the main fortress, heading for a tower where he saw Ganondorf and Bowser talking. He caught the tail end of a conversation between the two.

"…And so Eggman's bowing out. He'll help with any tech stuff we still need done, but he says he's certain Sonic will get involved in some way and doesn't wanna risk getting turned into a trophy by him," Bowser said.

"Can't say I blame him. I'm not exactly fond of the concept m'self," Ganondorf said, both he and Bowser shuddering, "At any rate, the loss is negligible. We still have Porky, Ridley, and that oaf Wario as allies. That should be enough for now."

The figure landed near them. "My lords," he said.

Ganondorf and Bowser turned, startled briefly. Then Ganondorf smiled. "Ah. Minister, welcome back. I trust you have good news to report?"

The Minister nodded. "You were looking for a way to build an army, yes? I have a way."

Ganondorf nodded. "Go on…"

"I know all about the fighters inhabiting this world. Mr. Game & Watch is the key to building an army powerful enough to accomplish your goals."

Bowser frowned. "That 2D freak? Why him?"

"His body is a gateway," the Minister explained, "With proper equipment, he can be used to draw out, control, and shape a form of semi-organic life that, for lack of a better term, is called 'Shadow Bugs.' You can build your army from there."

Ganondorf nodded. "It's worth investigating," he said, "Good work, Minister. We'll prepare to capture him at once."

"No need," the Minister said, "I have already done so for you."

As if on cue, a pair of camouflage-colored R.O.Bs flew up, clutching a trophy of Mr. Game & Watch between them. They set it down between Ganondorf and Bowser, both villains grinning wickedly.

"Excellent," Ganondorf said, picking up the trophy, "We'll begin experiments at once."

"You done good, R.O.B," Bowser said.

The Minister shook his head. "No… I haven't done anything good since I touched the Triforce… And it's Minister now, not R.O.B."

Ganondorf frowned. "You are having second thoughts?"

Minister let out the functioning equivalent of a sigh. "Plenty. But I will not betray you, my lords. My people have a purpose again. No matter how wrong this feels, I will not betray you…"

Without another word, Minister and two R.O.Bs accompanying him floated away.

Bowser grunted. "I don't like it when minions have doubts. Makes me nervous."

Ganondorf chuckled. "It doesn't matter. He's come too far to stop now. And if that conscience of his gets in the way, we'll just have him killed."

Bowser chortled. "How'd you get him to agree to this anyway?"

Ganondorf smirked. "He is of a breed meant to be loved. When he realized he would never get that love, it became easy. Now come. Let us talk no more of pawns, but of armies and conquest…"

**_THE END_**


End file.
